Golf club with interchangeable reminder buttons



Nov. 12, 1968 A. LEFLEUR I 3,410,552

GOLF CLUB WITH INTERCHANGEABLE REMINDER BUTTONS Filed Aug. 2. 1965 INVENTOR ALV/N LEFL EUR A770 Mm.

United States Patent 3,410,562 GOLF CLUB WITH INTERCHANGEABLE REMINDER BUTTONS Alvin Lefleur, Miramar, Fla., assignor to Golf Dial-A- Tip, Inc., Whitestone, N.Y. Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,441 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-162) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plurality of interchangeable reminder buttons are provided for attachment one at a time to the shaft of a golf club. Each button carries different indicia on its face which will act as a reminder to the golfer of a particular deficiency of his golf swing.

This invention relates to a golf teaching apparatus. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus for teaching golf by attaching an instructional reminder device to the shaft of the golf club.

To play golf well, an accurate and repetitive swing is required. Over the years certain basic fundamentals have been developed as a means for achieving an accurate and repetitive swing. These fundamentals include, but are not limited to, such things as keeping the head down, knees bent, left arm straight, a correct grip, and a slow backswing. Deviations from these fundamentals usually result in a poor score.

Although most golfers are aware of the necessity for perfecting the golf swing in accordance with the fundamentals outlined above, there is diiliculty in remembering to perform all of them simultaneously. Thus, a golfer may remember to do all but one of the fundamentals, such as slowing down the back swing, with a resultant inaccuracy in his shots and therefore poorer score. The present invention provides a means whereby the golfer may constantly remind himself of those things which he tends to forget.

It therefore is a general object of the present inven tion to provide a novel device for reminding golfers of deficiencies in their swing.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus for use in conjunction with a golf club to remind golfers of deficiencies in their swing.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings forms which are presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a golf club having the reminder device of the present invention attache-d thereto in two alternative positions.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the reminder device illustrating it attached to the golf club of FIGURE 1 and taken along the line 22.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the device shown in FIGURE 2 taken along the line 3-3.

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of the present invention showing the device attached to the shaft of a golf club.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 taken along the line 55.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view showing the device as mounted in a container for selective removal therefrom.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, there is shown in FIGURE 1 a golf club designated generally as 10.

A golf teaching device designated generally as 12 is ice attached to the club 10 adjacent the lower portion of grip 14. The club 10 includes a shaft 16 extending from the hosel 18 which is an integral part of the club head 20. The club head may be made of wood, metal, plastic, or a combination thereof in accordance with the conventional golf club making principles. As shown, the golf club head 20 is made of wood having a face 22 and a plastic insert 24. However, the present invention is not limited to use with golf clubs generally referred to as Woods but may be used equally with irons.

Reference is made to FIGURE 2, wherein the teaching device is shown attached to the grip 14. The device 12 includes an indicia supporting member 26 having a planar upper surface 28 and dependent flange 30. Although the device is shown as having a disk-like member 26-, it will be readily recognized that the shape may be square, hexagonal, elliptical, or any other shape.

The upper surface supports indicia which conveys a particular instruction. Thus, the surface 28 has the instruction HEAD DOWN written thereon.

A clip 32 extends laterally from the flange '30. As shown, the clip 32 is spot-welded to flange 30. However, other means for attaching it such as threaded fasteners may be used if desired. The clip 32 may be made from spring steel and includes a pair of flat legs 34 and 36 for gripping the club 10. The legs 34 and 36 are at least partially curved about a transverse axis so as to provide sufficient gripping action. The remote ends of legs 34 and 36 are bent outwardly so as to provide cam means for quickly clipping the device 12 to club 10.

The device 12 is shown in FIGURE 1 as being attached to the club 10 adjacent the lower end of grip 14. The spring action of legs 34 and 36 provides sufficient force to hold the device 12 in position on shaft 14 even during the swing. This allows the user to take practice swings without having to adjust the device 12 thereafter.

Legs 34 and 36 extend laterally from flange 30 in a direction parallel to surface 28. In this manner, the surface 28 is positioned on club 10 perpendicular to shaft 16. This permits the user to readily read the teaching instruction because in addressing the ball it is normal to look directly down the shaft. The device 12 is positioned on the shaft or grip so that it extends in the same direction that head 20 extends from the shaft. Thus, a plane passing through device 12 will also intersect head 20.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the teaching device 12 may also be attached to club 10 by clipping it to the hosel 18. This alternative position on the club has been found to be quite effective, and for certain people, it is more comfortable and easier to read.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 and 5, there is shown a second embodiment of the teaching device designated generally as .12. As shown, device 12' includes a planar upper surface 28' from which depends the flange 30. A clip 38 is attached to flange 30 by means of rivet 40 and extends parallel to the surface 28. The clip 38 is made of spring steel which is curved to form a U-shaped member. The remote ends of clip 38 are bent outwardly to form cam surfaces for engaging the club. As shown in FIGURE 4, the clip 38 grips .club grip 14' on shaft 16'. The clip 38 completely engages the grip 14 about its inner surface. In this way, a more substantial gripping action is provided for persons who swing the club exec p tionally fast and are heavy hitters.

In FIGURE 6, the teaching devices 10 are shown mounted within a box 42. As shown, the devices are positioned within the box on dowels 44 and 46. If desired, the front wall of the box may be at a lower height than the rear wall. The dowels may be mounted at an angle to the horizontal. Accordingly, the teaching devices 12 are effectively displayed.

The teaching device is use-d as follows:

A golfer having difficulty with his game determines which particular aspect of his swing needs correction. Thus, he may determine that his grip or back swing is most deficient. Accordingly, he selects a particular teaching device having the correct instructional reminder thereon. The teaching device is taken from the box 42 which may be carried in the golfers bag. It is to be noted that the indicia on the teaching device may include plural instructions. Thus, the indicia may remind the golfer not only to keep his head down but also to follow through.

After the correct teaching device 12 has been selected, it is applied to the club by clipping either to the grip 14 or hosel 18. This may be done quickly by merely camming the spring clip over the grip 14 on hosel 18. The device 12 is aligned with the head so that a plane parallel to shaft 16 will intersect both the head 20 and device 12. The player now addresses the ball in the normal manner. In so addressing the ball, he will look down the shaft and thereby observe the instruction written on surface 28 or 28'. This will serve to remind the player to pay particular attention to that instruction which is written on the device.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A golf teaching device comprising a golf club, said club including a head having a hosel extending therefrom, a shaft connected at one end to said head and extending into said hosel, a grip on said shaft adjacent the other end thereof, said head extending from said shaft at an angle, a plurality of interchangeable reminder buttons, one of said buttons being removably attached to 4 said shaft, said'one button extending from said shaft in the same direction that the head extends from said shaft, said reminder button having an upper face, and reminder means including indicia on said face which may be read by a user of the club to remind him of a particular deficiency of his golf swing.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said one button is releasably attached to said shaft by means of spring fingers terminating at their free ends in cam means.

3. A device in accordance with claim 2 wherein said spring fingers are elongated fiat springs having a curved surface for embracing at least 180 of the arcuate surface of said golf club shaft, said upper face being circular and having a depending peripheral flange button, said surface being circular, and said spring fingers being secured to said peripheral flange.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,484,390 2/1924. .Gibbs et al.

1,490,882 4/1924 Anderson 40-11 X 1,603,850 10/1926 Keating 273--163 1,848,950 3/1932 Hammes 40-11 3,033,574 5/1962 Partridge 273163 3,323,367 6/1967 Searle.

3,256,023 6/1966 Frazelle 273-165 3,347,551 10/1967 Dreyfus 273-183 3,353,824 11/1967 HamSOn 273-35 X FOREIGN PATENTS 713,071 8/1954 Great Britain.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner. 

